Milk ob cream vat



T. L.- VALEHIUS'.

MILK 0R CREAM VAT.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 2|. |914.

l Patented Dec. 2,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l IIIIHII HH @mw M T. L. VALERIUS.

MILK 0R CREAM VAT.

APPLlc/ mou mw SEPT. 2|. |914.

Patented De... 2, 1919. 2 ASHEETS-SHEET 2 Il STATES IBATENT OFFICE.

TI-IEGDORE L. VALERIUS, OSF FORT ATKINSON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE CREAMERY PACKAGE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MILK OR CREAM VAT.

resserrer.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Applicetion filed September 21, 1914. Serial No. 862,721.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Trrnooonn IJ. VAL- .iiuiE-fs, a citizen oit the United States, residing et Fort Atkinson, in the county oi" Jetiferson und State of idlisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Milk or Cream Vets, of which the following is a specification.

ltly invention relates to improvements in Vats in Which milk, cream or other liquids may be subjected to heating or fooling processes by ineens of amediuin circulating in n coil or pipe ivithinthe vat.

@ne object et my invention is to insure greater eiiieiency by providing flor a more perfect contact between the heating or cooling medium und the inner furteee ot the pipe through which it circulates.z

A further obj ect is to prevent the contents oi theecil from leaking into the vat, thereby diluting or destroying' the cent-ents of the vet.

A further objectis to insure the rapid circuiution oi' .the heating` or cooling' medium in the coil, thereby mainteining; nearly uniform temperature throughout the entir length of the toil and minimizing the di erence'in temperature betvfeen the coil and the contents of the vot, thus preve burning on the coil and thereby increasing efficiency and making it essie1 to keep the coil clean and sanitary.

In the prior art the heating or cooling mediums have been forced through the pipes by pressure, whereas in my improved vat I have provided means ior tirer-.fing the medium through the coil by creating e vacuum.l This method removes ell air-pockets, insures a tree contact between the circulating-medium and the surfaces of the pipes and thus secures greater etliciency. Also, inasmuch es the pressure on the coil is from Without rather than from Within, in the event that e leak should develop in the coil, the contents of the vat Would enter the coil and Would shoii7 in the discharge thereby promptly discovering the leak; While at the same time I obviate the'danger ot spoilingthe contents of the vat by mixing with it the contents of the coil. l

I obviate also the danger of the contents of the vat burning on the coil when a heating medium is used, and thus cestroying; eiiiciency by insulation, besides imparting s burnt flavor to the milk or meking` it more diiicult to keep the vat clean and sanitsry.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan viev.7 partly sectional, the central portion of the vat being cut away to shorten the. drawing. Fig. 2 is on end elevation of the vat, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the driving mechanism.

In the form of my invention which I have selected for illustration, a vat 1 is supported by e` base Q'. A tubular shaft 3 eXtends longituoinally through the center et the vat and is mounted in bearings at the ends of the at and supports a pipe coil 4': which has a continuous open connection with tie respective end portions of the hollow shaft to permit ot the circulation of the heating; or cooling fluids through the coil, a battle 3a ler other suitable means beingprovided to prevent the fluid fro .i passing; directly through the shaft. One end of the tubular shaft 3 is adapted to be submerged in a fluid 5 contained in a reservoir 6 which may be mounted on one end oic the vat; the other end ott the tubular shaft communicates With a centrifugal pump and through it with a return pipe 8 which discharges into the reservoir 6.

A motor 9 is supported by a bracket 10 mounted on one end ci' the vat. rIhe motor, through a pinion 11, gear 12, shaft 13, Worm Iiiand gear 15, imparts a sloiv rotary motion to the tubular shaft 3 and the coil and through the above mentioned connection und gears 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, imparts a rapid rotary motion to the pump 7 By means et a shifter-lever 21 and a clutch 22, the pump muy be stopped at. will Without interfering with the revolution of the coil.

The end or" the tubular shaft 3 which is submerged in the fluid 5 is surrounded by s strainer 23 to prevent solid matter from entering the coil. A steam pipe 24E passes through the fluid in the tank and discharges into the mouth of the hollow shaft 3 to provide means for introducing a steam jet to heet the iuid before it passes through the coil. The seid steam pipe may be carried beneath the vut to the opposite end, tor greater convenience in operation. i

An inlet 25 and an outlet 26 are provided in the end of the vat 'for the introduction and removal ot cream or milk. A switch-box 27 may be attached to the side of the vat in proximity te the meten velved- Water in Ill) reservoir 6 contains a sufiicient quantity ofthe heating or cooling fiuid which it is desired to use, the motor 1s started, causing a very slow revolution of the coil, and at the same time rapidly driving the pump which yquickly creates a vacuum in that part of the tubular shaft and coil not already filled with the fluid, thus drawing the heating or cooling iiuid through the coil, when it passes through the pump into the discharge pipe 8 and is finally returned to the reservoir 6. If desired, a jet of steam may be injected into the coil by means of the pipe 24.

It will be observed that since there is no connection from the outlet of the return pipe 8 to the inlet of the tubular shaft r3, there can be no closed circulation of the heating or cooling liquids, and the pump, while serving to force the liquid into the return pipe 8 after it passes the pump, actually draws the liquid through the coil by means o'f the partial vacuum created. In the prior art the liquid has been forced through the coil. This distinction is of the utmost importance, since the method of drawing instead of foreing the iluid through the coil gives greater eiiiciency, prevents the possibility of water or brine leaking from the coil and hollow shaft 3 into the milk or cream; and if a leak is developed by which the milk or cream enters the coil, it is quickly discovered, as it will be, shown in the discharge of the pump. There are numerous other advantages of this construction some of which are referred to at the beginning of this specification.

The rapid flow of water through the pipe coil 4 is highly advantageous in that when steam is admitted through the pipe 24 the rise in temperature of the coil is substan-A tiallv uniform throughout its entire' length. If the flow of water were slow the rise Vin temperature would be much faster at the steam-inlet end (the right-hand end as viewed in Fig. 1) than at therother end.

During the time that the milk or cream is being brought up to the desired temperature and while it is being held at the desired ternperature, there is, of course, a difference between the temperature of the milk or cream and the temperature of the coil, the coil beingr somewhat hotter. When all parte of the pipe coil are of substantially the same temperature, there is less difference between the temperature of the milk or cream and the temperature of the coil than when onel end of the coil is considerably hotter than the other.

It will be evident that when one end of the coil is much warmer than the other, then difference in temperature between the hot'end of the coil and the milk or cream in contact with said hot end of the coil will be much greater than the difference in temperature between the cooler end of the coil and the milk or cream in contact with said cooler portion of the coil. When the flow through the coil is so slow that the inlet end heats u more rapidly than the other, said inlet of the coil becomes hotter than it would if the fiow were so rapid as to equalize the temperature throughout the coil. Because of such increased temperature at the inlet end of the coil, the albumen in the milk or cream is coagulated and clings to the hot end of the coil, becoming burned thereon. Y

It is understood that the' particular structure may be varied without altering the spirit of the invention and that I am not to be limited to the precise form of construction shown herein.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the clase described., a, vat, a reservoir, a pump, a revoluble tubular coil extending longitudinally of said vat and communicating at one end with said reservoir and at the other end with said pump, and a steam pipe'extending into Said reservoir and terminating at the mouth of the coil to provide for the discharge of a steam jet into the contents of the coil.

2. An apparat-us of the class described;V e 96 t having, in combination, a vat, a coil in said vat for heating or cooling the contents of said vat, a receptacle containing a heating r cooling medium and communicating with said coil, and means forsucking said medium through said coil at a sufficiently high vlocity to maintain the pressure at any point 'of said coil below the outside pressure at that point.

3. An apparatus of the class described having, in combination, a vat, a hollow eloment in said vat adapted to carry a temperature-changing medium and meansfor passing the temperature-changing mediurf through said element at a pressure less thn the pressure of the fluid in said vat, whereby a leak in said member will allow a 'ow fluid from said vat into said member se the' contents ot said vat are nated. l In testimony whereof, I hereunto setmy hand in the presence of two witnesses. f THEODORE L. VALERIUS.

In the presence of'- Y H.v H. CURTIS,

HUBERT E. LEMKE.

not contenait 

